Chickens and InfraRed lights

[sab]

I don't even know if this is the right forum to ask this but ---

We put a video camera in the coop. Has InfraRed night vision. That's little red lights on the camera. I noticed the birds really don't seem to sleep. Just are restless all the time. They stand up - they look around. They sit down. They stand up. I expected to see them resting on those 2x4s - not so much activity. I always understood they are very very docile - zombie like - when it's dark. And yet I see all this activity.

Could the red lights on this camera be a cause of concern for them??? Any one know??

 

[chickenbythesea]

it could be and I only say that because they should be pretty much comatose/ docile in the dark... but then again, the heat lamp lights are red and that never bothered our chickens... maybe someone more knowledgeable will come and have more to say

 

[galanie]

It could be bothering them slightly if they aren't used to it yet, but then again they could just be acting normal. Sometimes I sit out in the coop after the sun goes down and Some sit, some stand, one moves around some, then a sitting one stands, etc. It's not because I'm "bothering" them, that's just the way they pass the night. It's no wonder they doze during midday!

 

[sab]

When I get this cam on the internet, you can all watch how these birds sleep at night. They may be docile, but they are not sound asleep.

 

[fireguy56]

Hi, Just a thought. Maybe they are uneasy because they think they are being watched. I don't mean by the camers lens, but maybe the red lights. Most chicken equipment suppliers sell some type of predator deterant like NightGuard which uses a red LED light to simulate something watching them. Another brand I saw uses two lights. Maybe the Chickens have that same inbred fear of being watched in the dark. Just a thought. Try turning off the camera for a while and sneak out and see if they settle down. I know when I go out to our totally pitch black coop at 3 am and surprise them, they are all sleeping. Just a thought. good luck.
Erik

 

[sab]

They seem to be more settled tonight. Might be they just had to get used to it. That's Duck-Duck below in the nest box